So the Traffic Lights Blink
by Raloire
Summary: A series of drabbles that explore the endless possibilities for pairings and AUs. Latest Drabble - Smirk
1. A Character Swap

**A Character Swap**

You probably wouldn't recognise him, if you'd known him as the timid child who was often picked on because of his obscure name.

Dragon Peak Emperor.

His best friend had always been the one to protect him and perhaps Mikado truly changed on the day he asked Masaomi-Kun to help him get stronger. So the Emperor could fight alongside the Vassal. They became even more inseparable after that and he'd been sure it'd stay that way. But his parents had their sights set on Ikebukuro and well, that was that.

In a way Ikebukuro was the best thing that'd ever happened to him. He grew as his own person, stronger and more confident.

That was a lie, of course.

The truth was that Ryuugamine Mikado channelled his best friend's cheery spirit and strength to keep himself going until it became his own.

He was more reckless than ever and his parents barely noticed. The freedom was simply amazing!

He got into more fights, because what would his old friend think of him if he turned back into that timid boy from so long ago?

He built a reputation high enough to form his own colour gang. The Emperor of the Yellow Scarves.

Then he met Saki-San and truth be told, he wasn't really interested, life had been getting boring as soon as the Yellow Scarves was becoming dependant on that informant's support. Her sudden appearance in his life would probably have gone unnoticed if her voice hadn't started merging with his conscience, _"Call Izaya-Sama he'll know what to do.", "Don't worry about that call Izaya-Sama.", "They're all fine with you relying on Izaya-Sama". _

He hadn't realised just how attached he'd gotten until he received that phone call from the Blue Squares. Until he ran straight there only to watch her die and have to listen to that bastard informant gloat and talk about gods.

His best friend arrived at the train station yesterday and they almost didn't recognise each other.

* * *

She's lived a quiet, quiet life since her parents 'passed away' on their trip to Saitama. Her foster-father, Akabayashi-San, was mostly at work and that left her to her room, and more importantly her computer.

The co-admins, her old group of friends had long since disappeared from DOLLARS after it got out of control so it was her responsibility to keep things in order. Though she remembers briefly wanting to do nothing more than abandon it after seeing the damage in her own city.

It was difficult, impossible even to do so as whatever she fixed would be for nothing thanks to someone or perhaps a group of users who seemed to easily bring her down two steps. If she found them she'd be sure to ban them from the site. Even if it didn't fit with the No-rules vision, it'd at least give her enough peace to fix the damage that'd been done.

Deciding to pull out her homework instead of trying to tackle the DOLLARS site again, she thought back to her day. A group of girls had cornered her on her way home and threatened her with their boyfriend being a member of DOLLARS, which was almost laughable really. Two boys from her year ended up saving her from them.

The two stood out as an odd pair to say the least, a quiet country boy and a cheerful playboy with blue eyes.

* * *

He'd started viewing the world through the frame several years ago.

Masaomi had been walking home late one night when he'd wandered onto the scene of the soon to be infamous murder-suicide of a tourist couple. He couldn't remember it all that well but he'd felt drawn to the blade that was seemingly jutting out of the earth and soon after he'd been overwhelmed by its voice.

At first he could barely function, he could hardly walk, didn't trust himself enough to speak.

It helped that his parents didn't notice, that Mikado-Kun had stopped coming online as often and that his classmates didn't push him to the point of _cut, cut, love, cut._

The isolation gave him the time he needed to get a hold of it, but by then he'd changed so drastically that it almost shocked him.

Still he trusted himself enough to move to Ikebukuro to attend Raira Academy with his childhood friend.

He'd only been able to recognise the colour of his eyes.


	2. Mundane

**Mundane**

That boy is, well.

Saying that his life is mundane was certainly one day to put it. He'd only been living in the city for little over a month and Ryuugamine already had formed a mental routine for most days of the week, making everything incredibly predictable.

He leaves the house the same time each day, comes home around the same time each day. When he's not out with those two friends of his he pretty much keeps to his apartment, occasionally going out to buy groceries. There's not much else to say about it.

What on earth makes you think _he _could be a member of DOLLARS?


	3. Innocence

**Innocence**

* * *

_Extension of A Character Swap_

* * *

For an orphan, Anri was rather innocent. She didn't think much on the matter and remembered her parents quite fondly even though their murder-suicide had been on the news and she'd been asked many crude questions about the incident.

But she hadn't been there, she could hardly begin to imagine why it'd happened.

For someone of her physique, Anri was rather innocent. She'd occasionally get an unpleasant comment about it, but the very next day they'd apologise to her with remarkably pale faces.

So she didn't worry about it, she had more important things to think about.

For the Leader of Dollars, Anri was rather innocent. She believed in justice and people's inherent good natures. Even if some abused the site there were still those that made her proud to be its creator.

Sonohara Anri lived in her own quiet and relatively peaceful world.

All thanks to her guardian who made sure that it stayed that way for as long as possible, not even Ikebukuro's strongest would be able to disturb her peace.


	4. Drowning

**Drowning**

He feels like someone had just saved him from drowning as he wakes up soaked to the bone, coughing and spitting an unpleasant liquid out.

A group stand in front of him, the two at the front look young, probably high school students.

The one in the green and white jacket steps forward, they're talking about something but he's not paying attention. The back of his head is throbbing and he's trying to blink the liquid out of his eyes, there's an odd smell that seems familiar.

The boy is rambling about 'cleansing' and he has an authoritative tone to his voice that's a little frightening.

Wait, no, forget that. This teenager is terrifying and even in his disorientated state he begins to scramble backwards because he recognises that smell and he recognises that smell and he's drenched in the stuff.

His situation isn't anything at all like drowning, oh shit, that teenager is holding a lighter and he is covered in gasoline.


	5. Smile

**Smile**

* * *

_Extension of A Character Swap_

* * *

The night before Saki-San died that informant approached him and gave him a speech about the past and gods while wearing that smug look of his on his face.

Most would have expected the Emperor of the Yellow Scarves to punch him in the face and unleash all his bottled up emotions that were most certainly boiling beneath his skin thanks to the burnt girl's obvious oncoming fate.

However in an interesting turn of events the teen smiled at him and said calmly, "If that's so, then I already have a god. But it certainly isn't her."


	6. Sport

**Sport**

Sport had never been the Class representatives' strong point.

* * *

So one would wonder exactly how Ryuugamine Mikado had gotten strong enough to stab someone with a writing utensil.

* * *

So one would wonder exactly how Sonohara Anri had become such a gifted swordswoman.


	7. Introduction

**Introduction**

* * *

_Extension of A Character Swap_

* * *

Masaomi felt as if he'd been introduced to his best friend twice now, except that the roles had been drastically changed.

He'd almost been disappointed to find that Mikado had changed so much and he certainly recognised the disappointment that flashed in his friend's eyes when they met at the train station.

The city had changed the once timid boy, but then again maybe it'd been him all those years ago that'd done this.

His friend, of course assumed that the country had 'mellowed him out' which was a fair enough assumption as there was no way that he'd ever know about the cursed blade that threatened to drive him insane daily.

Still, Masaomi felt as if they were strangers meeting for the first time and he wonders, momentarily, if coming to Ikebukuro was such a good idea after all.


	8. Stripes

**Stripes**

Now-a-days you couldn't wear blue or yellow without anyone associating you to the Blue Squares and Yellow Scarves.

The gang violence seemed to be reaching new peaks everyday attacked for wearing the wrong colour, but at least her school uniform was safe.

Now, what was she going to do with the inconveniently coloured striped shirt her grandma had sent her for her birthday?


	9. Unforgivable

**Unforgivable**

* * *

_Extension of A Character Swap_

* * *

After visiting Masaomi in the hospital the Yellow Emperor promptly headed to Shinjuku.

The Slasher was responsible for his quiet friend's injuries, attacked the boy in the middle of the night and cut and cut and cut and cut him. Unforgivable!

Supposedly the Slasher was a member of the Dollars so whether their precious leader knew it or not they'd just declared war.

Upon meeting the informant he practically snarled as he demanded the Dollars Leader's identity.


	10. Wallet

**Wallet**

A small group of thugs wearing yellow cornered her, demanding her purse. A knife was pointed at her and people were just walking past and ignoring it!

She was regretting coming all the way out to the city to visit her cousin already.

Maybe she could scream and push past them? But her feet were rooted to the ground and she was stu-stu-stuttering terribly.

God she felt like she could cry.

Her hands were shaking but she managed to carefully place her hands inside her bag, wrapping her fingers around her wallet.

"Please, you, you don't have t-t-t-to-"

"Just shut up and hand it over!"

That was it, she was definitely crying now and not the quiet less embarrassing kind either, with shaky breaths and knees and an intense desire to curl up into a ball on the floor.

And then, almost simultaneously two people said, "That's it, you're really pissing me off."

The knife came closer to her face only for the man holding it to launch into the air, crashing onto the floor with a sickening thud.

Her saviour, ahem, the man who hurtled the thug into the hair with a single blow to the face; was a blonde bartender whose very presence caused the group to scatter in an attempt to flee. The blonde, (Shizuo is it?), grabbed the taller one's yellow scarf and yanked them back, lifting them off their feet before throwing them in the direction of the remaining thugs, hitting one of them in the back.

The he chased after the last one and both of them became lost in the crowded streets.

She let out a relieved breath and tried to stop crying, knowing that she'd regret not thanking the guy.

That still didn't change the fact that she was absolutely lost, maybe she should just call her cousin already there was no way she was going to ask for directions now.


	11. Smirk

**Smirk **

* * *

_Extension of Unforgivable and Smile_

* * *

The boy speaks in a serious tone, with controlled anger burning behind blue eyes; it slips out for a brief moment when his request becomes a demand, a snarl from the Yellow Scarves Emperor who won't take no for an answer.

When Saki died, Mikado had given him an almost chiding smile as if to say _'Nice try but that won't work.' _The honey trap hadn't lured him in at all.

But here he was, and oh Izaya had to hold back giddy laughter as he smirked down at him now; here he was demanding the Dollars leader's identity, ready to declare war because of a few cuts on that parasite's arms.

"I'm afraid I'm not selling that particular piece of information, we'd both die in the middle of the night if I did." He pauses, soaking in the intensified glare before leaning forward slightly, "Would you like to know the Slasher's identity instead?"

"Name your price."

Izaya's careful enough to make sure that his smirk doesn't stretch out into a grin.


End file.
